1 Samuel 9:27-10:16

Drew Archer

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Introduction

Good Morning! So last week, we went through the passage where Israel asks Samuel for a king

we talked about how this was something that the law said was their right to do

but this was a rejection of the Lord because while this was only righteous in an external way

it reflected the desire of the people to be like everyone else

not wanting a king that would lead them to follow the Lord

but one that would lead them to be like everyone else

like all the surrounding nations

and God says he will grant their request, but he warns them that he’s actually going to give them what they want

and they won’t like it

well, this week, we get to meet the king, the first anointed king of Israel, Saul

chapter 9 introduces Saul by telling us he comes from a wealthy family

that he is really good looking

and that he is very tall

which of course makes me immediately suspicious

his father is missing donkeys and he sends Saul and a servant to go find them

and through this Saul meets Samuel, and the Lord reveals to Samuel that he has chosen Saul to be king

so Samuel has Saul come to a banquet where Saul is the guest of honor, although Saul has no idea why

and he has Saul stay the night at his house

so the next morning Samuel wakes up Saul to send him on his way

bringing us to our passage this week

starting in verse 27:

1 Samuel 9:27–10:16 ESV

27 As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to pass on before us, and when he has passed on, stop here yourself for a while, that I may make known to you the word of God.” 1 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince over his heritage. 2 When you depart from me today, you will meet two men by Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you, ‘The donkeys that you went to seek are found, and now your father has ceased to care about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?” ’ 3 Then you shall go on from there farther and come to the oak of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. 4 And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from their hand. 5 After that you shall come to Gibeath-elohim, where there is a garrison of the Philistines. And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying. 6 Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. 7 Now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you. 8 Then go down before me to Gilgal. And behold, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.” 9 When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day. 10 When they came to Gibeah, behold, a group of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them. 11 And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, “What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” 12 And a man of the place answered, “And who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” 13 When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place. 14 Saul’s uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, “To seek the donkeys. And when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.” 15 And Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” 16 And Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But about the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him anything.

This week marks a very odd thing for late July

opening day of major league baseball

baseball was the only sport I played consistently as a kid

for 10 straight summers, I was in the local youth league in Warner Robins

I love baseball, and growing up I had this desire to be a star, maybe even a major league player

but there were a few issues with this

the primary one was: I wasn’t good

I was small - never really got over that

I was uncoordinated

and I wore these thick bifocals that really didn’t help me when trying to hit a moving baseball

I had the desire, but I wasn’t equipped, I lacked the ability, the gifting to do it

There are times when we might want to blame God for our failure to do what he calls us to do

saying that our failure to be faithful is because he didn’t equip us

thinking that the problem is God not gifting us enough

but going throughout the Bible, God demonstrates over and over again that when it comes to our failure to trust him, to be faithful to him

our failure to truly even acknowledge him for who he is

that the problem is not with him

he has given us every advantage

he has set us up with everything in our favor, yet we fail to be faithful

the problem is with us

we have a heart that desires anything but him

we’re more than equipped, but we don’t want what God equips us for

we see it with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden

God blesses them immensely and they rebel

we see it with Israel in the Exodus

God brought them out of Egypt miraculously and then miraculously provides food out of the sky

they cannot deny that the Lord is behind all of this and he is with them

but they grumble in the wilderness, and there’s always a group saying, we would be better as slaves in Egypt

And here, we see it with King Saul

God knows that Israel is rejecting him in asking for a king

it’s stated several times in Samuel

so maybe the audience is thinking the reason Saul fails is because God is not faithful to him

that God sets Saul up to fail

but he is everything we would dream of for a king

he looks the part, he comes from the right kind of family

and God goes to extremes here to say, I have chosen you

I am giving you everything you need

trust me, be who I call you to be

but as we know, he fails, why?

because God is making a point here that no matter what advantage we might be given

we need Jesus

we need him to do everything for us

that even our desire to follow the Lord, our desire for Jesus

comes from Jesus, it comes because of God’s work of salvation in our lives

that apart from Jesus, apart from the true king, we’re like Saul

We might look at his story and think, how could he mess all of this up?

but we shouldn’t be too hard on him, because Saul is just another example of us apart from Christ

given every advantage, but destined to fail

because he shows where his heart is pointed, he shows what he freely desires

he ends up being yet another example pointing us to the truth

that we don’t need every advantage, we just need Jesus

Let’s look at our passage together:

1 Samuel 9:27 ESV

So here we have the writer of Samuel setting up the scene and telling us

this is a private moment between Samuel and Saul

there are no other witnesses, not even Saul’s servant

We’re about to have one of the most important historical events in the history of Israel

the first anointed king over God’s people

the transition to a monarchy that ultimately points forward to Jesus

to the king over God’s people

and no one is there

Do we recognize that this is often how God works?

God is working to build his kingdom

but it mostly does not happen through the events we see in the news

it often happens quietly when we’re not paying attention

Some of the most important things going on in God’s Kingdom might be things that we don’t ever hear about

so after what has to be a somewhat confusing day for Saul, Samuel is finally ready to tell him what’s going on,

who God is calling him to be

leading us to the next verse:

1 Samuel 10:1 ESV

1 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince over his heritage.

Samuel anoints Saul and tells him plainly, God has chosen you to be the king over his people

this is Samuel in his role, not primarily as a judge, but as a prophet, as the Lord’s ambassador

to be anointed as king was a practice for vassal nations that the people of Israel would have recognized

with nations that established an empire of some kind during this time period

you would have the main, great king over the nation who was in charge - called the suzerain

and then the other surrounding nations that submitted to the main nation - the vassals

these kingdoms would be under the protection of the great king and would be responsible for paying him tribute

and often the great king would choose the lesser kings and designate them by anointing them

so the anointing is an acknowledgment of subordination

showing them who is in charge and where they get their power from

So the picture here is the Lord as the great king, as the one who is in charge

and Saul has been chosen to be his vassal

the anointing shows the hierarchy

Saul’s power comes not from the people of Israel, but from the Lord

It’s a comforting thing to know that when the Lord calls us

no matter our calling as his children

in our job, our families, our church

he is the one who calls, he is the one who is in charge

And Samuel says when he anoints him

not look, I am anointing you, I have chosen you

but, the Lord has anointed you

Samuel is acting as the Lord’s arm here

and as King, what will God do through him?

save God’s people from their enemies

this is an idea we saw in Hannah’s song in chapter 2

that it will be through his king, that the Lord judges all of the earth

not just Israel, but the world

all of the Lord’s adversaries will be broken to pieces

and this view crystallizes more and more throughout Samuel

but it didn’t start with Hannah’s prayer

this is clarifying a theme from the beginning of the bible

in the Garden of Eden, we see God’s promise of salvation just after Adam and Eve rebel and God says to the serpent:

Genesis 3:15 ESV

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

I’ve mentioned before the grammar in the verse here, that from the beginning the only way to interpret the “he” in the second half of the verse is a singular male

and throughout the book of Samuel, we get clarification that this person, the one who will crush the enemy, crush the head of the serpent

is the Messiah, is the Lord’s Anointed King

this is something we get glimpses of even with Saul when he has some military success against the Philistines

but it is not until Jesus that the head of the serpent is crushed

that all of creation is truly put under the feet of the king

his death reconciles us to God because he takes on God’s judgment for our rebellion, for our failure, in our place

and now that he lives and reigns, there is nothing the enemy can do to separate us from him

the enemy has no power over us

at times we forget that, at times we doubt that it’s true

we fall victim to the lie that Christ is not enough

and that sin cannot be resisted

and the brokenness of the world is too much

but no one and no thing is greater than Christ

back to our verse

1 Samuel 10:1 ESV

Samuel says here are some signs, here are some assurances that you are the one the Lord has chosen

that you will be equipped to do what he calls you to do

that he will give you everything you need

going to verse 2:

1 Samuel 10:2 ESV

2 When you depart from me today, you will meet two men by Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you, ‘The donkeys that you went to seek are found, and now your father has ceased to care about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?” ’

First, the thing that brought you out here, looking for your father’s donkeys will be taken care of

you’ll meet two men who will tell you that your donkeys have been found and your father is worried about you since you haven’t come back yet

there is some parallel in these verses with what goes on in chapter 9

there, Saul says to his servant, we haven’t found the donkeys, let’s go back before my father gets worried about us

and the servant basically says, wait, Samuel is here, let’s go ask him, maybe he can help us

bringing us to the next bit

verses 3-4:

1 Samuel 10:3–4 ESV

3 Then you shall go on from there farther and come to the oak of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. 4 And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from their hand.

So the first sign might not be that compelling to Saul,

he was looking for the donkeys and they were found for him

but then the parallel with chapter 9 continues

after the servant said there, let’s go see Samuel

Saul says, how, we don’t have any bread to give him

when you would go see the prophet, you would bring something for him

well, here, God provides the bread

saying I will provide what you need

I am the one doing the choosing, trust me

this second sign also carries a bit more weight in confirming God’s call on him as king

these men are going up to worship at Bethel

the loaves would have been made for the priests there

reserved specifically for someone who had been anointed to serve the Lord

so, by offering Saul the bread, they are in some way providing confirmation of his anointing, maybe without even knowing it

and by Saul accepting the bread, it shows that he is at least beginning to accept God’s call

acknowledging that as someone who has been anointed, it is acceptable for him to take it

then the next sign serves as an even greater outward sign, verses 5-6:

1 Samuel 10:5–6 ESV

5 After that you shall come to Gibeath-elohim, where there is a garrison of the Philistines. And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying. 6 Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.

Samuel says, God is going to confirm his calling on you through a major outward sign of ecstatic prophesy

you will prophesy, something that Saul has never done

and this won’t just be an external sign of confirmation

it is evidence of God equipping you internally

of changing your heart and giving you the ability to do what you are called to do

of giving you everything you need to lead, everything you need to save God’s people from their enemies

in chapter 9, they were looking for Samuel to know what to do about the donkeys

and he was ready to give up

but here, God is saying, my word will be with you, trust me

I will give you everything you need to reign over my people

the Spirit of the Lord, the Holy Spirit will make himself known to you in an undeniable way

Verse 7:

1 Samuel 10:7 ESV

7 Now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you.

Samuel tells Saul, this will tell you and show you that God is with you

that he has indeed chosen you to be king over his people

and that just as he has given you these signs, he will continue to provide for you

he will continue to empower you

Thinking about the parallel here between Saul and Adam

Adam, the first man, who was designated to be our representative before God

was equipped with everything, he was created in a state of immense blessing

he and Eve were given everything they needed to do what God called them to do

multiply, fill the earth and subdue it

they were created to be God’s kings

we as people, were created to be God’s ambassadors, having dominion over the earth

called to be stewards of creation, while enjoying all of its benefits

Adam was our best shot at being righteous on our own

and he fails

Here, God is doing very much the same kind of thing in making Saul king

he has blessed Saul physically, he looks like a king, he is tall and handsome

God is blessing Saul through giving him these outward signs

giving him promises of this is what you will be

this is what you will do for my people

equipping him internally, as well

Saul, in many ways, represents our best shot at being the right king

he has been blessed, he has every advantage

if he can’t do it, then none of us can

and, like Adam and Eve, there is a clear test with a pass/fail

Verse 8:

1 Samuel 10:8 ESV

8 Then go down before me to Gilgal. And behold, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.”

For Adam the test was not eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil

this was a test of love, of trust

where Adam fails, trying to become like God rather than be who God made him to be

for Saul, it is a similar test of trust

testing who Saul truly loves

Saul’s place as king, his role as king over Israel is as someone who submits to the Lord

who acknowledges the Lord as his great King and source of power and strength

So he is to submit to Samuel, to God’s ambassador, recognizing that he speaks for the Lord

Saul is not a priest, so for him to not wait for Samuel and offer sacrifices would be to break the role God has given him

he would be usurping Samuel as prophet and priest

we will see that this very test results in Saul being rejected as king

Just like here, Saul is called to wait 7 days for Samuel to come and make sacrifices

and because Saul sees his power as coming from the people rather than God

he will fail the test and make the sacrifices himself to try to appease the people

So just as David functions as a second Saul later, showing his trust in the Lord where Saul failed

Christ functions as a second Adam

and the greater David

being the perfectly righteous king

Verse 9:

1 Samuel 10:9 ESV

9 When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day.

So when Saul leaves Samuel, it says that God gave him another heart

or literally the Hebrew says, overthrew his heart

a reminder that when it says heart, it’s not just talking about emotions separate from the mind

it is talking about the whole being, all of our affections

heart, soul, mind and strength

Now, what exactly does this mean?

we know that part of this is God empowering Saul to be king

equipping him to be who he is called to be

is this God regenerating Saul’s heart in a saving way?

it’s unclear

part of what this passage is doing with the parallels to Adam and the setup with David

indicates to me that either God is doing everything short of regeneration

or he is regenerated, but he just fails, like all of us

if we look for the fruit of faith throughout Saul’s life, we really don’t see much of it recorded in Samuel

but that’s part of the point

as we know, Saul’s heart is contrasted later with David’s heart

as David is called a man after God’s own heart

showing a love for God and demonstrating a righteousness that Saul lacks

and whereas Saul has a few of these events where the Spirit rushes on him causing him to do things

it eventually departs from him

this is contrasted with David’s anointing where it says the Spirit rushed upon him from that day forward

pointing to our need to constantly have the Spirit

true righteousness comes only as a result of his work in our lives

which is only available through the King, through Christ

because of Jesus’ righteousness, the Spirit never leaves us

we have a need for God to not just overthrow our hearts

but hit delete and start over

pointing to our need for a love and righteousness that do not come from ourselves

we need the living righteousness of Christ

So Saul leaves Samuel and for the first two signs, the writer doesn’t tell us anything other than, they happened

bringing us to sign 3 in verses 10-11

1 Samuel 10:10–11 ESV

10 When they came to Gibeah, behold, a group of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them. 11 And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, “What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”

So we have this big outward sign of Saul joining a group of prophets and engaging in some kind of ecstatic prophesy

the Spirit of God demonstrating that something has happened to him

the language here is like when the Spirit rushes on Samson in the book of judges

and then he goes and does some great feat against the Philistines

and the writer helps us to know that this is not a normal thing for Saul

this is completely out of character

So what is it that he says, what does he prophesy?

we don’t know, the writer doesn’t tell us, so it’s not relevant

but a reminder that the main function of prophesy is forthtelling, proclaiming God’s truth

not foretelling, telling the future

So Saul is most likely being moved by the Spirit to proclaim truth about the Lord

who he is and what we are called to do and be as his people

this is an act of worship with the other prophets

verses 12-13:

1 Samuel 10:12–13 ESV

12 And a man of the place answered, “And who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” 13 When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.

this was not the kind of thing that happened every day

so this event is leading a bystander to question the legitimacy of what’s going on

he’s making a cynical comment about either who Saul’s dad is

or who is leading this group of prophets

so there’s a proverb that came out of the event: is Saul among the prophets?

the event serves as even more confirmation for who the king is supposed to be

the role is subordinate to the Lord

and so subordinate to his prophets, to his ambassadors

we see this throughout the rest of Samuel and in the book of kings

who can tell the king what to do?

the prophet, whether that is Samuel or Nathan or Elijah or Elisha or Isaiah or any other prophets that we see throughout the Old Testament

Saul’s anointing is shown to be prophetic in nature

apparently he came from a pretty well known family, so people knew who he was

but one of his first public demonstrations as the anointed king is prophetic

the text parallels numbers when Moses appoints elders to help him judge Israel

God demonstrates his Spirit by causing them to prophesy

this is an outward confirmation that is difficult for people to deny

but then they stop and the text says they do not prophesy anymore

the indication is this is not a continual thing for Saul

the other place we see Saul prophesy is chapter 19 when he is trying to kill David

and the Spirit stops him and causes him to prophesy

there it serves as an act of judgment, as it does not seem to be a pleasant experience for him

but here it is an act of confirmation and empowering

1 Samuel 10:14–16 ESV

14 Saul’s uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, “To seek the donkeys. And when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.” 15 And Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” 16 And Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But about the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him anything.

So Saul goes home after all these events, all of these confirmations

with his anointing as Israel’s king only known to himself and Samuel

and he fails to mention any of it when his uncle asks him specifically

what did Samuel tell you?

this could just be some kind of humility or he’s taking time to process

but it most likely points to his fear

God has called him

he has equipped him

he’s given him very visible outward signs that he has been chosen to lead and save God’s people

and he’s already running from it

he is already failing to trust God’s promises

when Saul is publicly chosen in the next passage, they can’t find him

he’s hiding in the baggage

A reminder, as those who belong to Christ, as those who are trusting in him

this is not us

we may often fail when God calls us to something, but in Christ, we are never rejected

Saul represents us before Christ

In Christ, God has placed a call on each of us, he has given us all gifts, all roles in the church to serve him and serve one another

and our salvation is secure, our hope is secure, because where Saul failed, where Adam failed, Jesus did not

his righteousness is our righteousness

Saul needs saving just like us, we can only be saved by someone who themselves, do not need saving

Let’s praise God for showing us in so many different ways in Scripture

that left to ourselves, we fail, we are faithless, no matter what advantages we may have